Why do we assume buyers are, um, stupid? Because it’s obvious to us they should buy. From where we stand, it seems we have THE perfect fit – the right solution at the right price, filling the right need, and the right relationship.

But we consistently forget that a buyer’s problem is not an isolated event, and it sits within the buyer’s environment – their system, if you will – all mashed up with a bunch of unknown and unknowable other elements that not only hold it in place, but maintain it daily.

And we walk in as Super Saviours, assuming we are, as Dr. Seuss says in The Sneetches The Fixxit Up Chappie.

But it’s so much more complex – even for a very simple sale. Because every single purchase is a Change Management issue. Every single one. And, so different from what we perceive, buyers are doing perfectly well as they are – or they would have fixed their problem already.

So, no, it’s not a money problem, or a competition problem, or a differentiation problem. And where prospects go is not to find a better price or visit your competition. They go to the next department, or an old vendor, or the tech group, to see if they can get buy-in for change.

Because until or unless buyers get agreement from everyone and everything that touches the Identified Problem, and would be in some way stressed if something different entered the system, they will do nothing. Regardless of their need, or your stellar, and (of course) perfect solution.

It’s  not about you, your solution, your relationship, your price, your care, your presentation, your appointment, your charisma, or having the perfect fit.

Until or unless buyers recognize and manage all of the internal issues that not only created their Identified Problem but keep it in place daily, and until they all buy-in to whatever change will happen when something new enters, they will do absolutely nothing.

Check out my new book Dirty Little Secrets: why buyers can’t buy and sellers can’t sell and what to do about it. It will explain what’s going on and what you can do about it. Then you can stop telling your manager that you’ve got prospects in the pipeline, and you’ll have a much better understanding of where and how you and your solution will fit in.

sd

Why Do We Blame Buyers? is a post from: SharonDrewMorgen.com

These sales folks are long-term professionals, responsible for millions of dollars of business annually. Yet they are discovering wholly new responses and possibilities for starting client relationships.

What are they doing differently from what they used to do? They are directing their efforts to supporting the off-line issues prospects have to address before they are in a position to consider making a buying decision. They are not using sales techniques. They are not gathering data, or understanding needs, or pitching. But their results are far more successful than if they were selling.

My client sells JIT learning solutions to large numbers of users in corporations, universities, and government agencies. Usually, their sales cycles are long because of the different types of decision makers involved: L&D, HR, technology, Training. Now, using Buying Facilitation, with a single cold call, they are learning how to efficiently lead buyers through their normally confusing journey through internal buy-in for change.

Here is what my clients are noticing on these cold calls:

1. time: cold calls are going from an average of 4 minutes to 24 minutes.
2. acceptance: without asking for a meeting, they are being asked to come in for face-to-face meetings in order to meet the whole Buying Decision Team.
3. respect: within the first 15 minutes of the cold call, their opinion is being sought and prospects are asking how to best bring my client’s solution into their environment.
4. creativity: the prospects are opening to new possibilities that they hadn’t considered, with initial plans to use my client’s solution as part of their internal resources.
5. rapport: laughter, fun, teasing, collaboration. Within minutes they are in a “We Space.” It’s delightful to hear.
6. numbers: they are going from getting 10-15% agreement for a face  meeting, to being asked to come in and present about 40% of the time (with no numbers yet available as to how that will increase by the second call).

FACILITATING DECISIONS

Are we selling? Well, no. But the buyers are being given the tools to put together the right decision teams and make plans to design internal change initiatives that include my client’s product. On the first call.

By helping buyers manage their off-line decision-making and helping them understand and consider how to welcome and manage change, they are opening the door to a sale, entering the buyer’s environment far earlier than they could if they were selling, and becoming part of the Buying Decision Team on a cold call. They are indeed collapsing the sales cycle.

Most of all, they are truly serving their prospects and helping them discover their own excellence. If we can’t help our buyers achieve excellence, we’ve got nothing to sell anyway.

sd

p.s. If you want to contact my client Peter Casebow to find out how he is finding the change, and how it is affecting his business, email him.

A Case Study In Buying Facilitation® is a post from: SharonDrewMorgen.com